John Carver could learn his Newcastle future at meeting today

Damian Spellman

John Carver could learn his fate today as Newcastle continue their search for a new head coach.

However, whatever the future holds for the 50-year-old, it appears the position he occupied for the second half of last season will not be filled by Patrick Vieira.

It is understood Carver is to meet club officials on Tuesday to discuss the way forward and his potential role in that plan.

It seems increasingly unlikely that he will remain at the helm after a desperately difficult five months in charge, during which he won only three of 19 Barclays Premier League games, in the wake of Alan Pardew’s January departure.

But Carver has previously indicated he would have no problem in returning to the role of assistant manager at St James’ Park should the club decide to appoint someone else to the main role, and that remains a possibility with the former Toronto manager having five years left on his contract.

Managing director Lee Charnley has spent the last few weeks assessing the field and it is understood there was contract with the Vieira camp.

However, that contact did not survive the initial skirmish and the Frenchman’s name, the emergence of which came as something of a surprise, has now been erased from the informal short-list.

Vieira had been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite when news of the Magpies’ fledgling interest became public, but the focus has now returned to former Derby manager Steve McClaren, who is a free agent following his dismissal by the Rams last week.